Top 14 Moments of Way Out West Festival 2015

Over the weekend (Aug 13th – Aug 15th), thousands of people strolled into Slottskogen park in Gothenburg, Sweden for Way Out West music festival, where TK acts on TK stages played the fest. At night, the festival continued in the form of Stay Out West at venues around the city, making it the Coachella meets SXSW of Scandinavia.

Here are some of the best moments of what has become one of Europe’s biggest music and vegetarian – and as of this year – dairy-free music and film festivals.

1 – British Producer Kindness grabbed his cell phone and had the audience say hey to Robyn, who wasn’t at the festival to join him for their single collaboration, “Who Do You Love.”

2 – Norweigian DJ Kygo brought his trademark Caribbean mixes of familiar songs including Ed Sheeran’s “I See Fire” and Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” to the thrill of a huge crowd at the Azalea stage who danced and sang along as pyrotechnic fireballs and confetti punctuated his performance.

3- During her highly anticipated set, FKA Twigs turned the small-ish Linne festival tent into an intimate venue, a rare talent in and of itself, and performed “in time” from her brand new EP M3LL155X which was released that same day while vogueing with a Swedish dancer.

4 – At Stay Out West venue Gothenburg Studios, Lapsley showed off her rich vocals on singles like “Falling Short” to a small, but eager audience.

5 – A rather grumpy Father John Misty battled heat from the Swedish sun, an early set time, and a few people texting in front of the stage prompting him to tell everyone in the audience to “Put up those cell phones, it was like you were almost here, it was like like you were almost close.” He finished his set up with “Ideal Husband” where he growled through the lyrics, flailed around, dropped the mic, and walked off stage without a goodbye.

6 – Swedish popstar Tove Lo pulled in a massive crowd as she confidently shimmied around to international hits like “That’s My Gun,” “Stay High,” and “Talking Body,” singing exclusively in English then switching to Swedish to speak to the hyped up crowd.

7 – After taking off a pink bowling shirt to reveal an epicly trolling Golf Pride Worldwide Aryan national rainbow flag t-Shirt, Tyler, the Creator made the crowd jump to his own special brand of hiphop. He changed his shoes onstage, played with bubbles, and said he “didn’t expect ya’ll to be this hype.”

8 – Lauryn Hill started her set 10 minutes late, but made up for it by squeezing in acoustic and big band versions of newer songs and old hits “Ex Factor,” “Lost Ones,” and “That Thing” before closing the set with Bob Marley covers.

9 – British newcomer Rhodes pushed through a sore throat to provide the crowd at the intimate Stay Out West Folkteatern with songs from his upcoming debut album.

10 – It was her first time in Sweden, and Lianne LaHavas took advantage of the moment to show off her impressive vocals and confident guitar-playing skills on jams from her old album and new album, marking the occasion by switching up the lyrics of her song “Age” from “I fancy older men” to “I fancy Swedish men,” making the guys in the crowd cheer in approval. Apparently, the feeling was mutual.

11 – On Saturday afternoon, Chic and Nile Rogers didn’t let a downpour of rain stop them from getting the crowd moving. The audience in front of the Flamingo stage turned into one big multi-colored poncho-wearing dance party to faves like “We Are Family” and “Get Lucky.”

12 – Pretty much everyone at the festival came to watch Swedish favorites First Aid Kit, who were headlining the final night. They opened with their single, “Lion’s Roar” and immediately established an engaging rapport with crowd, who sang and rocked out right along with them to every song. Clearly, this was the band many festivalgoers at Way Out West had been looking forward to seeing the most.

13 – Later at the new Stay Out West venue Bananpiren’s Made by Sweden stage, Parham delivered his brand of Swedish hiphop to a packed house who bounced and swayed along.

14 – And to close out Stay Out West, Tove Styrke rocked the Magasin 105 warehouse at Bananpiren with her high-energy pop, doing galloping dance moves, and getting the audience to live it up and party full out along with her songs like, “Borderline.”

Author: Joy C. Mitchell is a travel and entertainment writer from Los Angeles who lives in Berlin. When not tapping away at her keyboard, she’s a force to be reckoned with on the dance floor. Follow her on Twitter @joycmitch or on her blog http://joyineurope.com.